About “What's The Frequency, Kenneth?”

“What’s the Frequency Kenneth?” is an alternative rock hit by R.E.M. Released on September 5, 1994, it was the first single from the band’s ninth album Monster and signaled a change in the band’s sound; the mandolins and string sections from the band’s early 90s material were replaced by grungy electric guitar and fuzzed out bass.

The video for the song featured off-center camera angles that cut out the heads of Stipe and his bandmates for much of the video. The video style references the nature of alternative counter-culture in the 90’s that avoided obvious self-promotional pop themes for sophistication, misdirection and cryptic mystery that was part of Stipe’s signature style.